In 2014, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to several scientists responsible for developing methods to break the resolution limits of optical microscopy. One technique pioneered by Dr. Eric Betzig, known as PALM microscopy, allows researchers to precisely measure the locations of single protein molecules within a cell, but unfortunately requires cells to be illuminated with such high light intensities that it can only be used reliably on fixed (dead) cells; living cells are often heavily damaged or even killed within minutes of observation using this technique.

In February 2017, Scintillon Institute Principal Investigator and Associate Professor Nathan Shaner, Ph.D. was awarded an R01 grant from the NIH's National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) for the development of genetically encoded tools to solve this problem.

In order to allow researchers to observe single molecules in living cells without damaging them, Dr. Shaner will use bioluminescence - biologically-generated light that does not produce heat - to enable PALM-type imaging of individual proteins.

Scintillon Institute Associate Professor Nathan Shaner, Ph.D. was awarded a U01 grant from the NIH's National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) as part of the federal BRAIN initiative.  This grant will allow Dr. Shaner and his collaborators, Chris Moore, Ph.D.(Brown University) and Ute Hochgeschwender, M.D.(Central Michigan University), to expand the development of the non-invasive technology known as BioLuminescent OptoGenetics (BL-OG), which combines biological light production with light-sensitive proteins, allowing highly flexible manipulation of individual neurons.  

Tomorrow, March 3, 2017, Christopher K Glass, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Professor of Medicine (UCSD) will present “Genome-wide approaches to defining microglia identity and function” at 1:15pm in the 6868 Nancy Ridge Drive seminar room.

07 November 2016

For Immediate Release

A new potential target for anti-aging discovered in protective protein  

San Diego, CA

Research from the Scintillon Institute identifies a promising new target for future drug treatments for neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.  

Scintillon Institute proudly hosts

Michael Karin, Ph.D.

 Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology, Ben and Wanda Hildyard Chair for Mitochondrial and Metabolic Diseases, American Cancer Society Research Professor (UCSD)

“Positive and Negative Regulation of the NLRP3 Inflammasome Implications on Cancer, Aging and Neurodegeneration”

on October 24^th

at 1pm

Scintillon seminar room at 6868 Nancy Ridge Drive